East Midlands RSPCA gears up for busiest season of the year

The RSPCA is preparing for its busiest month of the year as it reveals that calls about wildlife from people in the East Midlands peaked at 2,450 last June.
A fox cub rescued by the RSPCAA fox cub rescued by the RSPCA
A fox cub rescued by the RSPCA

The RSPCA received more than 204,9741 calls about wildlife in 2018 across England and Wales last year; with 15,0932 of those from the East Midlands alone.

Nearly half of all the calls were received in the peak summer months, as May, June and July are the height of the breeding season for many wild animals.

The top five species the calls related to were pigeons (36,629 calls), red foxes (24,352 calls), gulls undefined (23,467 calls), hedgehogs (10,642 calls) and deer (9152).

A fox cub rescued by the RSPCAA fox cub rescued by the RSPCA
A fox cub rescued by the RSPCA

In Nottinghamshire, 3,593 calls were made to the RSPCA in 2018, with 612 of them being made in June.

Evie Button, scientific officer with the RSPCA said: "May, June and July are our busiest months for wildlife, so our officers, centre staff and volunteers are flat out at this time of year.

“Caring for young animals at our wildlife centres can be a round-the-clock job. Some of the most vulnerable animals need to be hand-fed every few hours, even through the night.

“From newborn fox cubs which have lost their mother, to injured blackbirds or tiny orphaned ‘hoglets’, the RSPCA is very busy caring for and rehabilitating animals so they can hopefully be re-introduced to the wild.”

A duckling rescued by the RSPCAA duckling rescued by the RSPCA
A duckling rescued by the RSPCA

RSPCA officers collected 59,428 wild animals in 2018, peaking in June and July with 9,688 and 10,388 collections respectively.

As well as the most common of Britain’s wildlife, the RSPCA was contacted last year about more unusual or rare animals including a Natterer’s bat, a natterjack toad and a hen harrier.

You can donate to the RSPCA here: rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/donateTo help wildlife in the garden this summer you can:

Put out fresh, clean water for drinking and bathing,

Take care using lawn-mowers or strimmers and keeping pesticides out of reach of animals.

Tidy away unused sports and garden netting to prevent animals to tangled

For more information about what to do if you find a wild animal in need of help, please visit the RSPCA websiteTo report concerns about an animal, please call the RSPCA 24-hour hotline on 0300 1234 999.